Seal pup ends up – out of the weather – on car dashboard

A seal pup has been rescued after being spotted in a busy lorry park at a ferry terminal in south west Scotland.

Workers at the Cairnryan port spotted the six-week-old earlier this month…Despite their best efforts to encourage it back into the water the pup refused to go and so the Scottish SPCA was called in.

One ferry worker tried to put the animal in the boot of his car to keep it safe – but it broke out and was found on the dashboard.

The pup – which has been named Smartie – was recovered by Scottish SPCA animal rescue officer Alistair Hill…He said the weather in the area had been “particularly bad” at the time with strong winds and stormy seas…

“The seal pup had made its way into the lorry park via a steep, man-made banking,” he said…”It would have taken a lot of effort for him to get up there and he had no intention of returning to the choppy waters.

“Normally we’d ask people to leave seals alone until we arrive but there was a risk he could have been injured in the busy lorry park so a member of staff put him in their car until I got there.”

However, the seal managed to escape from the boot by pushing down one of the rear seats and wriggling up onto the dashboard.